Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
He’s still been locked away in his studio with those men, and the house felt more and more like a prison every day since the new staff didn’t take orders from anyone but he and no one was allowed past the gate without their say-so.
I had no one to talk to because all the people I knew here were afraid to talk on the phone because someway somehow, everything we discussed was ending up in the gossip column by the next day.
Ryder was right about Mom not telling me anything. Each time I asked in a roundabout way, she claimed she didn’t know what I was talking about, so I had no choice but to leave it alone. Right now, that house is the only thing I have to look forward to. I probably shouldn’t have, but I told Nicole and Noel about it along with their mother.
Dad had even stopped hounding me once I told him about it, even though I hadn’t found an opportunity to ask Ryder for help with his problem, and Mary was cautiously hopeful, or so she said when I told her.
It didn’t matter, though, how skeptical anyone was; I knew that Ryder would never leave me now. We’d bought a home together, after all. He wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t planning to stay with me. I know he means it because when I drove by the new house a time or two, I saw men working on the place.
It was helping me ignore the things that were being said online, but now this. “Which delusional wannabe person of interest is claiming that the songs her stolen husband sang for his ex are all about her?” They even had a clip of me claiming with my whole chest that it was hard being the muse for Ryder’s latest music.
Of course, Elena’s fans were quick to jump on the bandwagon, and there were hundreds if not thousands of comments verifying that sentiment. That’s not what was giving me a migraine, though; no, it was the fact that this person had somehow found out the fact that I’d had some work done, something I’d kept hidden from the public.
Since everyone was always going on and on about how natural Elena’s beauty was, I never wanted anyone to know about the little snips I’d had done on my lips and nose and maybe my cheeks, but someone had talked, and I’m going to sue. There’s no way she could’ve known that unless the doctor who had been paid handsomely to keep his mouth shut had talked.
That was just the beginning for today, though, because the day had barely made it into the afternoon when the little shit was back with more attacks. My every move was being dissected, but the thing that put real fear in my heart was when she went back into the past and made the connection. “How?”
I can’t let the world see this. No one must know how Ryder and I really came to be. Ryder, if he sees this, everything will change. I have to get to him; I have to keep him from seeing this and start asking questions. My phone alerted again before I could leave the room, and I dreaded what I would find next.
At first, I didn’t recognize the picture, but then it clicked, and I felt the blood leave my face. This picture was taken the night Mary had tricked Elena into staying longer at the after-party, the night I met Ryder for the first time after Mary had set it up. It was all there, but no words were captioned, not yet. Please don’t know the truth about that night. This would unravel everything.
My phone rang with Mary’s tone, and I wiped away the tears that fell before answering her. “I’ve seen it. What are you going to do?” She had as much to lose as I did if this should come out. If anyone should put the pieces of the puzzle together or worse if this MengeLiNi person talked. I was no longer under the illusion that she didn’t know, she had to, and she was taunting me, taunting all of us with the pictures.
Those images on their own could be seen as nothing, but if the truth behind that night comes to light, it could mean the end of my marriage or my life period. Because what use was living if I couldn’t be here in this town where I’ve always wanted to be?
“You’ve got to do something, Mary, or we’re all going to lose and lose big.”
“That’s why I’m calling; I have an idea of how to get the heat off of us.”
“Yeah? What?”
“You’re going to tell the world that you’re pregnant. You said you and Ryder were getting along much better these days, so you should be able to convince even him for a little while until it becomes a reality.”